


Catching Up

by honestgrins



Series: Challenge Accepted [4]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 06:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5575645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day 4 - Canon: A lot has happened in their years apart, but there's always been an ease to their conversations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catching Up

"Last I saw, you and the Ripper were enjoying wedded bliss and the domestic, family life."

Caroline stiffened in her beach chair, her Kindle slipping from her fingers. She rarely took vacations, preferring to settle wherever she landed for a while. For her 117th birthday, though, she had decided to treat herself to a month in a luxurious Jamaican resort. She certainly hadn't expected her relaxing afternoon by the ocean to be interrupted by the Original Hybrid.

She had survived a century of vampirism, experiencing everything under the sun at least once. Even the childbirth no one believed to be possible had happened, though the little girls have long since grown and passed. All of the Mystic Falls crew had passed, actually, leaving Caroline alone in the world once and for all.

A social girl by nature, she had made friends and allies throughout the world in the meantime. With her personality, she had even garnered a few enemies. Luckily, she had built some influence in several supernatural circles, given her busybody abilities. The value of information was something Caroline had learned to appreciate decades earlier, which made the surprise she felt at Klaus's arrival settle uneasily in her spine.

She prided herself on knowing the power balance in the room and using it to her advantage. For some reason, Klaus messed with her instincts, even after all this time.

Refusing to let him rattle her for much longer, Caroline sniffed and focused back on her Kindle. "I've only been engaged once, and you know it wasn't to Stefan," she answered crisply.

"I saw photos of you both with daughters, and you had a ring," Klaus clarified, making himself comfortable on the end of her chair. She pulled her feet away, but she couldn't help glancing up to find his heated gaze trained on her. "I'm sure you can forgive my assumption."

"Maybe the assumption," she snorted, "but the creepy stalker photos are not to be commended. That was also about ninety years ago. Am I really so good that I fell off your radar for that long?"

She might have sworn that regret crossed his face, but he smiled instead. "I merely took the hint and stopped waiting," he replied, ice in his eyes. His expression warmed, though, as he took in her bikini-clad body. "I did think this birthday was too special to pass up, let alone for you to spend it alone."

"Come to rescue little old me," Caroline mocked, despite the genuine smile that took over her face.

He cocked his head to the side, concern clear in his face. "Why are you alone, Caroline?"

"When I first turned, I never expected to live past twenty," Caroline admitted softly, ignoring his question. "Between Damon being an ass and my mother leading an anti-vampire Council, my chances were slim to none."

"And here you are," Klaus said, unmistakable pride in his voice.

She smiled again, unable to believe he seemed just as enthralled as he had been way back when. "Here I am," she said, also proud of herself. "You really haven't checked in since then?"

"I hear tell of you in some cities, the blonde with the curls full of secrets, they call you," he said with a laugh.

"It's good to have a reputation, I guess," Caroline giggled.

"Andrea spoke very highly of you in New York," Klaus mentioned, his stare darkening into something feral. "Many even accuse you of breaking her heart."

Sighing, Caroline finally set her Kindle in her bag to sit up straight. "Andrea will always be a very special friend to me, she taught me so much about being a vampire in modern society," she said, vaguely referring to her relationship with the arbiter of New York's supernatural community. "But, I don't give my heart so easily anymore."

"I suppose that has something to do with the Ripper?"

Caroline glared at the nickname, never having liked that Klaus focused on that one side of Stefan. "He died, about fifty years ago," she said simply, without the bite she had intended.

To his credit, Klaus did look truly sad at the news. "He had the habit of going off the grid for decades, it hadn't occurred to me that he might have passed," he said.

"It was Damon's fault, obviously," Caroline scoffed, still refusing to forgive the elder Salvatore for costing her someone so dear. Many someones, really. "Bonnie made it to thirty before she considered turning, and her boyfriend Enzo was ecstatic. Because her life was linked to Elena's, Damon got nervous about what turning would mean for the sleeping beauty curse," she explained. "Bonnie and Damon got in a huge fight the night she was supposed to do it, and he finally snapped her neck for her."

"She hadn't taken the blood yet," Klaus inferred, Caroline shaking with anger at the memories.

She shook her head, reaching over to take a swig of her daiquiri. "Enzo, who was Damon's best friend and basically his twin, flew into a rage. Damon called Stefan in tears, so we met him where he was storing Elena. Enzo had beaten him there and killed her just as she woke up."

As Caroline quickly wiped a tear from her eye, she could tell Klaus was confused.

"There's still a large gap between the witch's thirtieth birthday and Stefan dying fifty years ago," he pointed out.

"I'm sure you can imagine that Damon went off the deep end," Caroline said. "Stefan tried to help him. For nearly forty years, he did his best to keep Damon sane."

"You disapproved?"

"I thought it was a lost cause," Caroline shrugged. "I did my best to support Stefan, but I put my foot down on what would have been Elena's birthday that year. Damon had started picking fights with powerful vampires wherever we went, and I knew it would one day get Stefan killed. So, that night I didn't go, and he died. I found him with a stake in his heart and Damon with a snapped neck."

"How did Damon survive," Klaus asked incredulously. He clearly felt terrible for making her relive the tale, but he needed to know what he had missed in his absence.

"I have no clue," Caroline answered honestly. "But with Stefan gone, I finally had a chance to do what I had been wanting to do for years."

Leaning back, Klaus saw the deep satisfaction in her eyes. "You killed him."

"He took everything from me," she stated, simply matter of fact. "I just put him out of his misery."

"You've certainly grown up, Miss Mystic Falls," Klaus said wondrously.

"Can you say the same, Klaus?" Her gaze had turned curious, the sadness fading quickly. "I've heard about a daughter, a kingdom lost and reclaimed, then lost again. Sibling drama, parental drama, and a few consorts in your so called court. What brings you to my beach chair?"

Smirk pulling at his lips, Klaus finally broke he personal bubble by lightly stroking her bare legs. "I once promised you a thousand more birthdays, love," he said gently. "I found myself tired of missing them."

"Well then," Caroline sighed, leaning forward. She reached for his ever present necklaces, toying with the leather straps. "What did you have in mind?"


End file.
